Call Deadline: 02.12.2026 13:00 (CET/Oslo Time)
Available Budget for Nordic partners: up to 115 MNOK
Available Budget for Estonian partners: up to 300 000 EUR
Available Budget for Lithuanian partners: up to 420 000 EUR
Amount of funding that may be sought to Nordic partners in a project: up to 15 MNOK
Funding for Estonian and Lithuanian partners, see the national annexes.
The aim is to fund approximately ten Nordic or Nordic/Baltic research projects.
Background
The Nordic and Baltic food system faces risks from climate change, geopolitical instability, and disruptions in global trade and co-operation. Although supply chains for major imports are generally stable, the region is still vulnerable to market shocks and trade restrictions.
Access to food and feed varies between sectors, geography and countries; some export while others rely on import. Food security is therefore influenced not only by production capacity, but also by logistics, storage capacities, cross-border co-operations and the optimal use of regional resources, including sea food, meat and plant-based food. Risks arise from disruptions to logistics and transport routes, challenges related to import and export flows, food distribution, and access to critical inputs. These vulnerabilities are further reinforced by geographic constraints and dependencies related to energy, fuel and infrastructure.
Solving these challenges requires research-based knowledge for food system actors and policymakers. Scientific contributions may help assess the impact of climate events or geopolitical uncertainties on food production, processing, distribution and access. The outcomes can guide strategies to reduce dependency, strengthen domestic capacity, and improve cross-border coordination, including adjusting food production and harvesting during crises.
The Karlstad Declaration (19 June 2024) underscores the need for joint Nordic efforts to enhance food preparedness and resilience through coordinated policy, planning, and research. Collaboration across sectors and strengthened scientific co-operation are vital for securing regional food systems in emergencies.
NATO’s Civil Emergency Planning Committee (CEPC) mandates secure and sustainable access to food and water as one of its seven requirements for member states.
Aim and thematic framework
The overall objective of this call is to support research and innovation projects that strengthen food security by enhancing the resilience of food systems across the Nordic and Baltic region through improved crisis preparedness, resilient support systems, and shifts in consumer behavior:
- Advancing integrated approaches that connect technological, organisational, and institutional innovation
- Addressing both short-term shocks and long-term systemic stresses
- Strengthening the capacity of food systems to anticipate, respond to, and transform in the face of disruptions
- Supporting evidence-based policy development and implementation
The aim is to fund projects involving parts of the land-based value chain and/or parts of the sea food-based value chain, or combined projects.
Projects must address food security within at least one of these areas:
1. Transnational/(transregional) preparedness and crisis response in food systems
Research under this theme should strengthen Nordic and Baltic preparedness for food system shocks caused by climate change, natural hazards, geopolitical events or other systemic risks. This includes tools, models and frameworks for risk assessment, scenario planning, crisis management and coordinated emergency response across food system value chains.
2. Resilience and interdependencies of critical infrastructure
This theme addresses the resilience and interdependencies of critical infrastructure supporting food production and distribution, such as transport, storage, energy and digital systems. Research should identify vulnerabilities, bottlenecks and cascading risks across agricultural and seafood supply chains and explore options for restructuring and strengthening these systems under future uncertainty.
3. Consumer behavior and increased use of Nordic and Baltic produced food
Strengthening food security also depends on consumer choices and market demand. In particular demand for locally and regionally produced food is a key factor for ensuring stable access to food in all parts of the Nordic and Baltic region. This theme focuses on consumer attitudes, preferences and barriers related to choosing healthy, affordable, and locally or regionally produced food.
Research may address how factors such as culture, price, availability, information, labelling and policy incentives influence food choices, and how diets based on Nordic and Baltic resources can support food system resilience, sustainability, public health and preparedness.
Stakeholder involvement
Projects are expected to include appropriate stakeholders and end users in the co-development and co-leadership of the project. Engagement with other sectors, as appropriate, are expected to identify implementation barriers as well as help develop strategies and systemic approaches to overcome them. Read more about stakeholder involvement in the full call text.
Funding
This call is announced as a collaborative effort between the Research Council of Norway, the Agriculture and Food Industry Research Funds (Norway), Formas (Sweden), Research Council of Finland, Research Council Faroe Islands, Rannis (Iceland), Estonian Research Council, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, Research Council of Lithuania, and NordForsk.
Webinar
Contact list
Do you want to connect with other researchers about the call?
Please fill out this form before 02 November 2026. This will give you access to the contact list, and your details will be available to the other interested researchers.
Question and answers
Do you have questions related to the call? Please contact: food26-qa@nordforsk.org
Phrase the question in general terms as the question and the answer will be published. We update the questions & answers section continuously, and you will shortly find a reply to your question below.
Aim of the call
Would the following types of research questions be considered within the scope of the call, provided that they are clearly linked to food security and Nordic-Baltic preparedness? [list of topics have been omitted]
The proposals will be evaluated through a peer review process. The peers have the same information as you have when considering the scope of the proposal. The evaluation criteria applied when considering the scope is “Contribution to call aims". The extent to which the proposed research is appropriate to the aims of the call”. As “Contribution to call aims” is an evaluation criteria, a proposal may score 1, indicating a low contribution to call aim, but with in scope. It may score 7 indicating a high contribution to call aim, and within scope.
Are there any requirements or expections to which extend the resarch is directly applical on a short term? This could also be described as a form of Technology readiness levels of the project/technology/knowledge fostered in the project.
No, there is no direct expectation to a TRL level or short-term outcomes. The call states: “The aim is to promote transdisciplinary research collaboration between research groups and relevant societal and business actors to develop new knowledge and build research expertise that is necessary to address the topics.
Funding
"Amount of funding that may be sought to Nordic partners in a project: up to 15 MNOK” just want to double-check is it total budget for 2-3 partners (what I think), or 15M/per partner?
Please see the first thre sentences in the call. Maximum amount of Nordic funding that may be requested is NOK 15,0 million. The total budget for the Nordic partners. Not 15,0 million per partner. Funding for Estonian and/or Lithuaninen partners is in addition to the Nordic funding.
Can small production companies be partners of the project and receive funding?
Yes. In the stakeholder paragraph two options are described. Small businesses can be partners (and receive funding as a partner) or be active by providing access to data, participate in workshops, be active in a stakeholder board, support dissemination activities etc. (and receive funding over a partner budget).
Would it be possible to include a Danish research partner in a proposal, even though Denmark is not listed among the funding organisations?
Yes, the call states that Nordic partners can come from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland Islands. Be aware that the project owner cannot be from Denmark, but from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Estonia or Lithuania. All partners and project owners can be funded.
What percentage of the total cost can be funded by the call?
Costs for participants can be funded 100%. There is no requirement for in-kind contributions, but it is an option.
Can the call fund the on-the-ground work by civil society actors who are implementing or piloting innovative, research-based solutions?
Yes, Any relevant actor can receive funding as a partner, Yes, it is a research and innovation call as the project owner must be a research performing organisation. The call is not aimed at implementation or piloting.
What's the duration of the project?
Up to four years.
I wonder what role civil society can play in the call? Can they get funding covering 100% of their time? How big a part of the funding can go to these kinds of partners?
Partners can be funded 100%, including non-academic partners. There is no limit on the funding directed to different sectors or countries. Funding should be justified in support of the aim of the call and the evaluation criteria.
Can farmers or companies be reimbursed for trial activities as stakeholders or subcontractors rather than consortium partners?
Subcontracting as in the purchase of services is possible.
If successful, when is funding released?
Funding is released after the collaboration agreement, developed by the project owner, is signed by all partners. For the following years funding is released once the progress report has been approved by NordForsk. The deadline to submit is 31 March and then NordForsk need s time to process.
Evaluation
How will the involvement of food producing companies be regarded?
Stakeholder involvement is expected. The call states: “Projects are expected to include appropriate stakeholders and end users in the co-development and co-leadership of the project.” Companies can be considered as stakeholders in the context.
Can you please be more specific on the evaluation criteria, e.g. science vs societal impact?
I assume you feel comfortable with the science impact (high-quality publications, building critical mass, networking, sharing of data and infrastructures and building on particular strengths).
Societal impact contributes to needs in the Nordic and Baltic societies. This implies that the high-quality research also has to be relevant, not only to a science community, but relevant to the greater society. One way to achieve this is by involving society in the proposal, society here represented by relevant stakeholders.
Projects must address at least one of the three themes. Is there any advantage in integrating two or more themes, or would NordForsk generally prefer a strong and focused contribution to one main theme?
There is no advantage in two or more themes. Now that the call is published, what counts is not the preference of NordForsk, but the evaluation of the peer review process.
What is strong demonstration of Nordic/Baltic added value?
Please see: https://www.nordforsk.org/nordic-added-value
Is it enough to collaborate with the non-academic partner in a participatory, co-production way? Ie. Collaborate on participatory elements such as workshops, engagement activities, living labs etc.
Yes. Try not to think about what is enough, but what is best to reach the goal. Whatever supports the proposal best in the ambition to meeting the ambitions of the call and the call criteria.
Eligibility
Can one partner have two roles, research organisation and stakeholder?
No. One organisation can only have one role in a proposal. It may have another role in another proposal.
Is a Nordic-Baltic Institute based in Instanbul an eligible partner?
Yes/No, an organisation based in Instanbul can be part of a consortium, but activities must be in-kind contributions and cannot be funded through the call.
Are there some rules related to gender balance or balance related to seniority?
No, but a bullet point in the criterion mentions the consideration of the gender dimension [no balance] in research content.
Are Letters of Commitment (LoC) required only from the project owner, or also from each partner?
The call mentions the following in the section for mandatory documents: "Letter of Commitment from project owner.". No other LoC is requested.
If someone is a project owner on another NordForsk call, can they also be a project owner on this call?
Yes.
The non-academic partner does not need to be a signatory consortium partner, correct?
If you have more than one non-academic organisation and the eligibility requirement is fulfilled, these can be partners or we can call them participants.
Consortia
Is there demand for international partners in a project? And amount of them, if obligatory?
There is no demand for international partners beyond the consortium requirements. It is possible with international partners who cover their own costs. International involvement is also possible if you have the option to invite international food security experts and then covert their costs.
Regarding involvement of different stakeholders - what policy actors are expected to participate and should this involvement be throughout the project?
In the call this is phrased as “Projects are expected to include appropriate stakeholders and end users in the co-development and co-leadership of the project. Engagement with other sectors, as appropriate, are expected to identify implementation barriers as well as help develop strategies and systemic approaches to overcome them.” and “A trans-sectoral approach – involving the academic, research, economic (businesses), societal (governmental and non-governmental organizations) and/or community sectors – strengthens the relevance of outcomes and enhances the conditions for their uptake and use, thereby increasing the likelihood of long-term societal and industrial impact.”
Would a consortium comprising research-performing organisations from two Nordic countries (Denmark and Finland) and one Baltic country (Lithuania) meet the geographical eligibility requirements, or is the participation of both Lithuania and Estonia required?
Participation of both Lithuania and Estonia is not a requirement. The call states states“ the consortium must include partners in at least three Nordic countries or in at least two Nordic countries, and one partner in Lithuania and/or Estonia. Nordic countries are defined here as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland Islands.
The call requires at least one non-academic institution. Is one non-academic partner sufficient for the entire consortium, or must a non-academic institution be formally involved in each participating country?
One non-academic partner is the minumum requirement for the entire consortium. Also check the annex.
Would it be acceptable to include funded non-academic partners with their own budgets in Lithuania and Finland, while involving non-academic stakeholders or end users from Denmark and Estonia without separate partner budgets? Could the latter be included as associated partners or through another formal status recognised by the call? Which option is more accetable for the call?
Yes, non academic organisations can be partners and be funded as partners and will also have commitments as partners. This includes the joint responsibility of implementation, signing the consortium agreement and reporting. Non academic organisations can participate and contribute without being partners. There is no formal status required for NordForsk. We expect that the consortium ensures that deliverables and activities described in the project description are achieved. The model chosen should be the model most feasible to reach the aim of the call.
If Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania acts as the project owner/coordinator, is it mandatory to appoint a Nordic co-host institution? If so, could either Copenhagen Business School in Denmark or the University of Turku in Finland serve as the Nordic co-host, and would NordForsk conclude the funding agreement for all Nordic partners with that institution?
Yes. In the stakeholder paragraph two options are described. Small businesses can be partners (and receive funding as a partner) or be active by providing access to data, participate in workshops, be active in a stakeholder board, support dissemination activities etc. (and receive funding over a partner budget).
Can an organisation outside Europe act as a partner without any budget?
Yes, partner institutions from outside the Nordic region must fund their own participation; however, travel and accommodation costs may be covered.
Scope
Is my proposal with scope?
If you find that the topic fits into on or all the three areas that the proposal has to address, and the peer evaluation reaches the same conclusion, then it is within scope.
Should all projects concern both land- and sea-based food production?
The proposal does not have to included both land and sea or aquatic. It can be either or. It does not have to include production.
Under area 3 (Consumer behavior and increased use of Nordic and Baltic produced food) you mention "demand for locally and regionally produced food". What do you mean by local and regional in this context? For example, do you mean regional as in larger regions such as the Baltic or Nordic region, or do you mean smaller geographical regions?
As the call already mentions resilience of food systems across the Nordic and Baltic region, we are thinking smaller regions.
Is there any advantage in integrating two or more themes, or would NordForsk generally prefer a strong and focused contribution to one main theme?
There is no advantage of addressing more than one theme. Develop a proposal that strongly supports the aim of the call and scores high on the evaluation criteria.
Which definition of food security is applicable for the call?
The call is not specific on this beyond the “Background for the call” and “Aim of the call and thematic framework”.
Other
Will the webinar on19th August be recorded and shared if registered to the webinar?
Yes, the webinar will be recorded and shared.
When are the applicants expected to be informed of the funding decision?
Second quater of 2027, Q2 2027.
What is the earliest and latest possible project start date? Would it be realistic to plan field activities for the 2027 growing season, and are costs incurred before the final contract or funding disbursement eligible?
Earliest 31.05.2027. Latest 31.10.2027
